2020 Coronavirus News

Negotiations surrounding an extension of the state’s eviction moratorium are approaching the do-or-die point with little more than a week left to find a solution for renters and landlords alike. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are trying to reach an agreement by Jan. 31, when the current eviction ban expires. Without an extension, throngs of vulnerable renters could be thrown out of their homes during a pandemic and likely further exacerbate the state’s homeless crisis.

Californians have accumulated $1 billion in unpaid water bills since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and about 1.6 million California households are behind on their water bills, according to a new survey from the State Water Resources Control Board.

Facing criticism for its chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout, California has quietly launched a long-promised statewide website to help residents learn when they are eligible to receive the vaccine and schedule appointments. 

Called MyTurn (myturn.ca.gov), the online registry has not yet been widely promoted and still is a work in progress.

Shasta County is setting aside more than 2,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The move comes after a San Diego clinic reported a cluster of severe allergic reactions that is possibly linked to a specific batch of the vaccine.

Dr. Karen Ramstrom, Shasta County’s health officer, says the county and other health departments have conducted large vaccination clinics with the same Moderna batch in question without issue.

The chaos and confusion many Californians experienced this week in their search for a COVID-19 vaccine only intensified today as Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed that the state would not receive an additional supply of doses it was counting on to accelerate vaccination. 

Newsom said he, like other governors, expected about 50 million doses to be released from storage by the feds in the next few days. “And then we read, as everybody else, that they have reneged or … are unable to deliver on that,” he said at a news conference unveiling a new mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium. 

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that residents 65 years or older are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. But some county officials in the North State are saying they need more time to roll the vaccine out to that age group. 

Lisa Almaguer, a spokesperson for Butte County Public Health, said more planning is needed.

Shasta County is set to hold a mass drive-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic this Saturday at Benton Airpark in Redding. 

The clinic is for in-home supportive services providers and community health workers. 

Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom says officials will ask for identification and proof of employment.

While California started vaccinating health care workers and other high-risk residents in December, there are still a lot of questions about who will get vaccinated when. Here's what we know so far.

Have a question that isn't answered here? Let CapRadio know here.

A new bill could make it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to apply for CalFresh, California’s version of food stamps, and allow people to enroll entirely over the phone by 2024. 

“California’s food insecurity crisis is worse than ever, and we have a moral responsibility to make CalFresh benefits easier to access,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who plans to announce the bill later today, in a statement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a $227.2 billion budget proposal Friday, kicking off a 6-month-long process to finalize a state budget for 2021-2022.

The proposal includes $14 billion in programs to assist workers and businesses impacted by the pandemic as well as to reopen schools. That includes nearly $5 billion Newsom will ask the Legislature to approve before the budget is finalized in June.